MMDA to train mall guards for holidays

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will train shopping mall security guards to help ease traffic jams along roads leading to malls during the Christmas season.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the agency would assign 10 traffic personnel at every mall in the metropolis.

Earlier, shopping malls agreed to adjust their operating hours to reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila during the holiday season.

Starting Nov. 28, the malls will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. except from Dec. 24 to 25 and from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, 2015, during which the malls will be given a free hand on their operating hours.

Shopping malls are usually open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. They are sometimes open until midnight for certain sales promotions.

Tolentino noted that traffic volume usually increases from 15 to 20 percent during the Christmas season.

He said the increasing number of vehicles around malls contributed to the traffic jams all over the metropolis.

The MMDA chief said he would inform the Philippine National Police of the malls’ new operating schedules to ensure police visibility in these areas.